Low Mortgage Rates found in the United States

Low Mortgage Rates found in the United States
Low mortgage rates currently found in the United States are at levels that haven’t been seen for many years. On top of that, homes in many parts of the country are currently selling for bargain prices. Despite those two factors, home sales are very sluggish. Many people don’t understand why these houses have been empty for so long and think that they should have been snapped up by buyers long before now.

In July, the sales of previously occupied homes in the US actually fell by 27 percent. This is the largest monthly drop in more than four decades, which goes back to when these records were first kept.

On reason that that homes aren’t selling, even with the low mortgage rates, is the fact that buyers are holding out because they believe that the prices of homes still have further to fall. Sellers, however, are extremely reluctant to lowers prices any further on homes are already on the market for bargain prices.

Many analysts believe that despite the low mortgage rates, things could get much worse for the property market before they get better.
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Mortgage rates have fallen lower every week for over a month and are looking to keep falling. This news has potential home buyers waiting in limbo for the chance to secure a mortgage rate of under 5 percent.

The average 30 year fixed loan mortgage rate has dropped to 5.22 percent which is the lowest rate American’s have seen since the beginning of May according to Bankrate.com. They explain the drop by pointing to the lackluster job numbers that were released which shows the recovery from the economic slowdown may not be as quick or strong as analysts might have thought.

In an effort to boost home sales, Congress is meeting to potentially extend the $8,000 tax credit to 1st time house purchasers. The current tax credit has a deadline of November 30th and congress hopes to extend the date as well as make the credit available to all people who purchase homes not just 1st time buyers. Some analysts believe that the combination of the tax credit and extremely low mortgage rates will increase the number of new homes purchased in the coming months.

The low mortgage rates have sparked an increase in mortgage applications for the month of June as last week alone the number of submitted applications rose 16.4 percent.

A Study Found the Aroma of Pumpkin Gets a Man's Blood Rushing More than Any Other

Pumpkin Is a Real Turn-On For Men

Research shows scent of pumpkin pie arouses men

If that someone is a man, those women might be better off wearing -- if it existed -- Eau de Pumpkin.

The Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation of Chicago conducted a study "to investigate the impact of ambient olfactory stimuli upon sexual response in the human male." In other words, they wanted to know what smells turn a man on.

It turns out the aroma of pumpkin gets a man's blood rushing more than any other.

The foundation says it studied 31 volunteers, men between the ages of 18 and 64. Dr. Alan Hirsch, the foundation's director, selected 24 different odorants, or fragrances for the study.

The test subjects were attached to a plethysmograph, a machine that measures blood flow caused by sexual arousal. They then were asked to breathe through various masks, both odor-free and odorized with the different aromas researchers were testing.

The smell of pumpkin was the most powerful turn-on, especially when mixed with the fragrance of lavender. The study says 40 percent of the test subjects were aroused the most by that combination of smells. Pumpkin combined with doughnuts also had a big effect on 20 percent of the subjects.

Why pumpkin? Why not some exotic fragrance perfume makers spend years and millions of dollars to develop? Dr. Hirsch and his team say a multitude of factors could be at play. They conclude that "the odors could induce a Pavlovian conditioned response reminding partners of sexual partners or their favorite foods."

We decided to test that theory with a very unscientific survey in our newsroom. We asked a couple of men what their response would be to the wafting odor of a pumpkin pie in the oven. Their reaction was a sort of rolling of their eyes, a licking of their lips saying, "Ooooh…ummmmm." That's a direct quote. They did not indicate, however, whether it was food or some other life experience that elicited their response

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